Online shopping is simply more accessible and popular today, and platforms like Shopify are making it much easier for brands to set up their online stores. And Shopify has been doing a lot more by offering brands several tools and calculators to seamlessly carry out business online.
Here we will list out and discuss all of these handy tools, both the ones you might already be using, and the ones that might have flown under your radar.
5 essential Shopify tools for online businesses
These are the five essential tools from Shopify that you should be using to enhance the way in which you carry out business online:
1. Logo maker
Shopify’s free logo maker, Hatchful, is a great tool for Shopify businesses to create professional-looking logos easily without having to rely on a graphic design expert. You can browse from the hundreds of templates that are provided here and design your personalized logo unique to your brand by adjusting the color, font, layout etc. in a matter of seconds.
This logo maker can fetch high-resolution logos in different file formats, making it a highly effective tool that can help you build brand recognition and assert your brand persona, without incurring any additional costs.
2. Business plan template
For small businesses starting out on the platform, the free Business Plan Template is a great tool that can help in writing business plans easily and effectively. The business plan outline is designed in a way that users will pay attention to all the aspects of starting a new business.
The free business plan template includes all the important business plan elements like executive summary, company overview, products or services offered, market analysis, marketing plan, logistics and operations plan and financial plan.
Using the free business plan can help you get over the initial blank page paralysis, and with its guidance, you can easily create a complete, impactful and effective business plan.
3. Stock photography
Shopify’s Burst offers a free collection of stock photos and royalty-free images to be used for your websites and other commercial uses. Users have access to more than 20,000 high-quality images ranging across different categories, which ensures that stock images can be found for most commercial use cases.
You can also subscribe by email to receive quick access to all the latest free photos and other Burst content
4. Link in bio tool
Shopify’s Linkpop, is a link in bio tool that lets you create a customized link for your social media bio to convert your followers to buying customers. This tool is especially effective in getting the most out of your social media efforts, as it provides your prospective customers from platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook etc. an easy way to reach your brand, product, or service.
With Linkpop you can convert your social media bio into a storefront, with your products and easy, Shopify powered one-click checkout. The Linkpop page can be customized according to your brand themes, and with the free analytics you have a better understanding of how your audience is responding through clicks and purchases.
5. QR code generator
Another essential Shopify feature is the free QR code generator that lets businesses turn any website URL, SMS, plain text or phone number into a QR code. This is especially important for businesses that are trying to organically drive traffic to their website or to provide accessible customer support.
The QR code generator can be used unlimitedly, and the links created do not have any expiration period, making it exceptionally effective, cost-free and reliable for businesses. All you have to do is choose the data type, add relevant details, provide your email and click on “Generate QR code”, and the QR code will be sent to you via email. This can now be used for your intended purpose be it as payment links, website links on product packaging or on cards and flyers for marketing and advertising.
19 other Shopify tools to set up and scale your online business
Besides the essential tools, Shopify offers other tools that can also enable your business in different ways and enhance the way you do online business. Let’s have a look at each of these tools!
1. Business name generator
Shopify offers an AI business name generator that lets you generate a business and claim the domain in no time. You can name your business by following three simple steps. Start by searching on Shopify’s company name generator for the availability of a domain name. You can choose from the auto-generated name ideas for your brand and then start your free day trial.
2. Slogan maker
With the Shopify slogan maker, you can browse by industry to find the right slogan for your brand. You can also directly enter a word in the field and click on generate slogans to create catchy slogans that can go well with your brand.
3. Domain name generator
The free domain name generator can help brands to easily find the domain name of their choice. You can check domain availability instantly from the search bar, choose the right domain name that fits your brand personality and then start your 3-day free trial.
4. WHOIS domain lookup
You can search the WHOIS database to find important information about a domain by simply entering the domain name. The WHOIS tool lets you see who the domain is owned by and access registration data.
5. Pay stub generator
With Shopify’s free online Pay Stub Generator, you can create detailed pay stubs for employees just by filling in the relevant information. Fill in the company information, employee information, income information and deduction information, and click on “Create pay stub” to instantly get a professional paycheck stub.
6. Terms and conditions generator
Another great Shopify tool that you should not be missing is the free Terms of Service generator. The TOS generator helps you create custom terms of service policy for your website to protect your business and customers as well as to keep customers informed. You can easily fill in the details and you will get a simple and easy-to-understand TOS, which you can further customize.
7. Business card maker
Similar to the other tools listed above, the free business card maker from Shopify requires you to merely add your business information and logo. And with a few clicks, you will have ready-to-print business cards sent to your email, that you can download instantly.
8. Invoice generator
Invoicing can feel like a hassle if there isn’t an easy and streamlined way of doing it. The free invoice generator from Shopify is a great solution in this regard. By adding all the relevant details in the professional template, you can create a quality invoice/bill.
9. Purchase order template
Another great Shopify tool is the purchase order template that enables businesses to streamline and manage incoming/pending orders. This also lets you easily keep track of all the outstanding orders and accounts payable for your brand, making it a must-have tool for better order management.
10. Privacy policy generator
The privacy policy generator from Shopify is an important tool as it lets you create a privacy policy to protect your business and customers, without much hassle. You do not need to be a lawyer to do this and you can easily get the customized privacy policy emailed to you after you fill in all the required information.
11. Shipping label template
The free shipping label template from Shopify offers an easy way to generate shipping labels for retail brands. Like the other tools above, you simply can fill in the required details and the label will be generated instantly.
12. Refund policy generator
Providing clear information on returns and refunds is crucial to gaining customer trust. Shopify’s refund policy generator is a great way for Shopify brands to do so as it only requires you to add the required details to get a professional, ready-to-use return/refund policy.
13. Bill of lading template
Shopify’s other free tool that you should be utilizing is the Bill of lading template. This tool helps you generate perfect, compliant, professional and accurate bills of lading for smooth title transfers and international shipments.
14. Barcode generator
Shopify’s custom barcode generator is a free tool that can help you track, organize and manage your products using unique barcodes. You can even add custom text that will appear along with the barcode. These barcodes can be generated easily and instantly and will be sent to your email address to be downloaded.
15. Image resizer
The free image resizer is a tool that ensures that your images online are optimized well for the website. You can upload your digital images and resize them into the perfect resolution and configuration suited for specific platforms so that they retain the quality and provide a consistent visual experience.
16. Business loan calculator
The business loan calculator can be used to calculate your business loan’s monthly payment. By entering the loan information and clicking on calculate, you can get an accurate calculation of how much your loan will cost, your monthly payment, average monthly interest etc.
17. CPM calculator
The free CPM calculator from Shopify can help you optimize your ad spending and assess how cost-effective your media advertisement campaigns are. Fill in the known variables for your campaign and the tool can instantly compute the unknown variables and provide you with the results via mail.
18. Profit margin calculator
Shopify’s profit margin calculator is another simple calculation tool that can be used to calculate the profit you can make from a product's price, and thus help you set better product prices.
19. Discount calculator
The discount calculator is another simple yet effective Shopify tool that lets you calculate how much you will be saving by using a discount. Users can choose the calculation type, and add the discount percentage and amount to get an accurate estimate of how much they will save.
Conclusion
Want to know more about Shopify tools and how you can put them to work as you scale your business?
